A Quote to Start Things Off

""I'd love to go to Santa Fe at some point, Emmett said, but for the time being, I need to go to New York. The panhandler stopped laughing and adopted a more serious expression. Well. that's life in a nutshell, aint it. Lovin' to go to one place and havin' to go to another. Amor Towles in the Lincoln Highway.

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Snow kidding! These "kids" now range from 17 to 23

Monday, April 10, 2023

H is For Hidden Figures

 A to Z Challenge

A Month At The Movies


#AtoZChallenge 2023 letter H

Hello and welcome back to A Month at the Movies,  my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.

This year I am copying from a myriad of other A to Z  challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter.  You can skip over this part if you want to.  

I love movies and have decided to share with you a movie each day that I have enjoyed to one degree or another.  With each entry, I'll give a brief synopsis of the film, share a positive and negative review from Rotten Tomatoes ( a website, I didn't use much at all until preparing for the challenge), discuss its resiliency (the theme of the A to Z challenge this year), and other tidbits like whether the film may appear in my top 100 film list, which I have been revamping this year. I think that's enough in the way of introduction, considering you'll be reading it (hopefully) 18 more times this month.

Film: Hidden Figures (2016) 

Director: Theodore Melfi

Trailer for Hidden Figures ...


Hidden Figures tells the story of Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan who were among a group of  African American Mathematicians who worked at NASA during the time that John Glenn orbited the earth. 

Positive Tomato: Hidden Figures puts the familiar period-piece lens on an overlooked part of space history without glossing over the ugly bits while still feeling hopeful for what science and technology can achieve when the best and the brightest can participate. Nathan Matisse - Ars Technica

Negative Tomato:
 Hidden Figures will likely satisfy on the actress' strength, but Taraji - and her audience - deserve better than focus-grouped pablum. Chris McCoy - Memphis Flyer

The film stars Taraji P Henson as Katharine Johnson, Janelle Monae as Mary Jackson, and Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughn.  The cast includes Kevin Costner, Aldis Hodge, Jim Parsons, Kirsten Dunst, and Mahershala Ali.


Katherine Johnson - NASA 1966

Resiliency: Each of the 3 main women featured in this movie gives a clinic on resiliency.  It would be hard to boil that down into one moment or one quote.  

My mind always goes back to the scene where Mary Jackson has to go to court to convince a judge for her to take engineering classes at an all-white school.  She says to the judge:

I plan on being an engineer at Nasa, but I can't do that without taking them classes at that all-white high school, and I can't change the color of my skin, so I have no choice, but to be the first, which I can't do without you sir. Your honor, out of all the case you gonna hear today, which one is gonna matter hundred years from now? Which one is gonna make you the first?

Top 100: There is no uncertainty.  This movie is definitely in my top 100 films of all time.  The only question is where.  I would not be surprised if it makes it into the top 75.

A to Z Connections: This is the second film in the challenge to depict a space program (Gattaca).  It is also the fifth film to deal with a character or characters fighting against some sort of discrimination (Breaking Away, Chariots of Fire, 42, and Gattaca). 

Next Time: It's my favorite movie. 














10 comments:

Jamie Ghione said...

I loved this movie! Great choice.

Amy R said...

Yep, great choice. It's a movie I can watch again and again and love it!

Timothy S. Brannan said...

I have heard nothing but good things about this movie. It has been on my list to see for a bit now. I need to redouble my efforts it seems.

--
Tim Brannan, The Other Side, The A to Z of Doctor Who

Liz A. said...

This is one I can watch over and over and over again. I can't say that about many films.

Anne Young said...

I enjoyed Hidden Figures when I saw it when I came out - a well told story.

Visiting from A to Z

Deborah Weber said...

Thumbs up on your choice, and I agree it's a very good movie.

John Holton said...

Another one to add to the list...

Slovenia said...

Thanks for the time and dedication you've put into this blog

Sue McPeak said...

Thanks so much for your visit to my Letter H on A Dig Artist's Diary. So glad to visit your Blogging Home...this movie has been on my Watch List. Now with your excellent and motivating review it is a 'Must See Movie'. CollectInTexasGal

Birgit said...

Great film! The acting is superb showing how hardit was for these women to work in a male dominated and white world.

A to Z 2023 Road Trip

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